Righting Wrongs

Coruscant – Galactic City

Year 981 after the Ruusan Reformation – Third year of the Clone Wars

Anakin sat alone on a couch on the veranda as the sun rose above the city. The birth of a new day. He did get a good sleep after the tumultuous events of last night, and his mind was clear. But still, he felt a little nervous about what Palpatine had said and done. A Sith Lord as the Republic's leader, it disgusted the Jedi Knight to think about that. But the past was in the past, and now, he had to live with the decision he had made.

As Anakin meditated on recent events, R2-D2 slowly crawled next to him. The astromech droid was very close to his master, and it grieved him to think that Anakin was not himself. Reaching Anakin's legs, Artoo began releasing small and quiet clicks, like he was a scared boy threatened by an abusive parent. Anakin, catching attention to his droid's wallowing, gave him a small smile and petted him. "I'm fine, Artoo. Don't worry." Anakin said. The Jedi's comment bolstered the droid's confidence, and he, slowly but steadily, left the room.

As Artoo left, Padmé entered. After taking a bath, Padmé had put her clothes on and was getting ready to leave for work. Putting on her earrings, Padmé sat on the same couch as his husband. When she noticed that Anakin was distracted, Padmé gently touched his face and turned it to her. "Ani, what's wrong?" she asked with the innocence of a child.

Staring at Padmé's eyes was one of the best things Anakin could think of. Her eyes brought him peace and tranquility, away from the war and the violence of an ever-changing galaxy. He struggled with the urge to tell her about Palpatine, he really wanted to tell her. But her eyes, something about them silenced him. The words were unable to come out of his mouth. Anakin simply said. "There's nothing wrong." He then got up from the sofa and walked towards the parked speeder.

"Anakin…" Padmé stood back up and tried to reach out for him. "Listen, I know that these days have been very difficult for you. But it looks like now, more than ever, you seem more troubled. I'm your wife, Ani, I have no idea what you're going through." She then put her hands together, as if she was about to pray. "But the best way to solve those problems is to talk about them."

While Padmé was speaking, Anakin had been staring at the cityscape, unable to see her face without being distracted by her eyes. But he had to tell her something. If he couldn't tell her the truth, then at least he had to say something that could appease her fears. He turned around and grabbed her arms. "Padmé, last night, something horrible happened. Not just to me, but to the entire Republic. It's about the Chancellor."

"What happened?" asked Padmé, her face understandably marked with despair.

"I…" Anakin tried to say the full story, but in the end, he felt powerless. He gave a resigned look to his wife.  "I don't think I'm the one who should tell you."

"Ani…"

"Padmé, please." Anakin begged her. "This is something that isn't about me, okay? This is about the Republic. And the reason I'm so unsure about this is because this is something that concerns you too." Anakin's tone was one of desperation, albeit tranquil. "I know that I have trouble, this is something that could threaten the Republic. You will know the truth, I promise you. It might not even come from me, but you will know the truth. But for now, I ask you to trust me."

Padmé was surprised that Anakin could say that. Usually, Anakin was excited at the prospect of new challenges, but the man standing right in front of her was not that man. This was a man who had seen too much, who had been bent by something he wasn't prepared for. And Anakin was right, if this was for the Republic's safety, then she should wait until the time was right. Hugging him, Padmé buried her face beneath Anakin's chin. "I trust you. I always will."

Returning the hug, Anakin felt grafeful. Padmé was indeed a thoughtful woman. He had made the right decision It wasn't on his authority to reveal Darth Sidious's identity, but it pained him to hide the truth. Fortunately, Padmé understood the circumstances. "Thank you." The hugging stopped, and the Skywalkers regained their composure. "You will know the truth. I promise you."

"I know." She replied with a smile. As her husband got onto the airspeeder, he saw that she kept smiling. He returned the smile as the airspeeder's canopy closed. A few seconds later, the airspeeder took off, leaving Padmé alone.

Padmé's smile vanished, and she began staring at the sunrise. If Anakin was right, if there was something wrong about the Chancellor, then the Republic was in indeed in danger. The Senator of Naboo released a small sigh, thinking on one thing: a great challenge for the Republic lied ahead.
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After a few minutes of traffic, Anakin arrived at the Jedi Temple. Silenty parking his speeder at the darkened hangar, Anakin headed towards the main hall of the Temple. He walked across the Temple's halls, and he saw several Jedi running past him. They were all in a hurry. They entered and exited out of rooms like swarms of insects. The Chosen One did not give much regard to his fellow Jedi's actions. Perhaps they were rushing to fulfill their responsibilities as military officials. Perhaps they were late to some training sessions. Or perhaps, they just liked running around. In any case, Anakin walked towards the Council chambers, and within the blink of an eye, took his seat amongst the senior Jedi.

The Council had a meeting of great priority. Masters Yoda, Windu, Coleman Kcaj and Shaak Ti had physically taken their seats. Obi-Wan, Masters Kid-Adi-Mundi, Stass Allie and Plo Koon were holographically present. Obviously, their off-world duties prevented them from being at Coruscant. Unfortunately, Masters Fisto, Kolar and Tiin were still receiving treatment at the medical center. Their injuries were too severe for them to attend.

"My fellow Jedi, I have called for this emergency meeting so that we can discuss the Palpatine situation." Windu started.

"I received your report that Palpatine resisted your arrest attempt, Master Windu." Obi-Wan said.

"'Resist' is an understatement, Obi-Wan." replied Anakin.

"If we may continue, let us go over what we have on Palpatine." said Windu.

"The Senate Guard has finished confiscated Palpatine's assets at the Senate." stated Shaak Ti. "It seems Palpatine had blackmailed several Senators to support his agenda, which included the approval of militarization acts to prolong the war."

"He also maintained contact with Separatist leaders, such as Nute Gunray or Wat Tambor."  continued Coleman Kcaj. "We can confirm by now that he was manipulating them in the same way he was manipulating the Republic."

"Wait, if he held contact with Viceroy Gunray, wouldn't that mean that Palpatine was connected to the Invasion of Naboo?" asked Obi-Wan.

"Yes, and we can also assume that he used the Invasion of Naboo to obtain more political power." replied Windu.

"Small parts of a large puzzle, this all turning out to be." stated Yoda.

"And there is more." said Master Ti. "To continue our investigation on Palpatine, we decided to go over the series of contingency orders for the Republic Army.  We have found a recent addition: Order 66."

"What's so special about it?" asked Master Allie.

"It details that in the event of Jedi officers acting against the interests of the Republic, and after receiving specific orders verified as coming directly from the Supreme Commander, the Chancellor, Republic soldiers are authorized, and required, to remove the Jedi by lethal force." replied Master Ti. "In that event, command would revert to the Chancellor until a new command structure is established."

"By the Force." exclaimed Anakin, shocked by the revelation of such course of action. He knew that Palpatine was a lying scumbag, but this made Anakin hate him even more.

"The creation of such order, an obvious plot to destroy the Jedi Order is." Yoda replied.

"Indeed." replied Master Ti. "The Chancellor is the only one with the power to execute Order 66. He does not require authorization from the Senate or the military authorities."

After Shaak Ti ended her sentence, there was a brief silence among the Council members. Anakin, bold as ever, broke the silence. "Now that we know Palpatine's real motivations, what do we do know?"

"We dispatched local patrols to hunt him down, but so far we have been unsuccessful." replied Plo Koon. "In the meantime, we need to agree on who will take leadership of the Senate."

"At first, we considered that the Jedi would take control of the Senate until a new Chancellor was elected." said Obi-Wan. "But with Palpatine revealed as a Sith Lord, that plan goes out of the window. I suppose the Senators will want to have a saying on this."

"We specifically instructed the Senate Guard not to inform any Senator about Palpatine's revelation." said Ki-Adi-Mundi. "We did not want to incite panic on the Senate since the event was very recent."

"You made the right choice." Replied Yoda. "Personally inform the Senators about Palpatine, I will."

"I will accompany you, Master Yoda." said Windu.

"So will I." said Anakin.

Yoda nodded in agreement at Windu and Anakin's choice. "Concluded, this meeting is."

Masters began leaving their seats while holograms disappeared. Only Obi-Wan remained on the room, still heavy on thought about everything that transpired. As he saw Anakin get off his seat and head for the door, Obi-Wan said: "Anakin, can I talk to you for a second?"

Letting out a sigh, Anakin returned to Obi-Wan's seat. "Is something wrong?"

"Anakin, I… I'm sorry."

The Chosen One was left at a loss. "For what?"

"For putting you in this position." Obi-Wan lowered his head. "The Council made you spy on him, and I know how close you and Palpatine were. Had I known he was a Sith…"

"Master, you've got nothing to apologize for." Anakin replied. "The only one responsible for this mess is Palpatine. Yeah, he played us all fools, but now that we uncovered his schemes, we can bring him to justice."

"Yes. It is a good thing we discovered his plans before it was too late." Obi-Wan regained his smile.

"So, aren't you gonna say 'I told you so'?" asked Anakin, who was also smiling.

"What?"

"You always said that Palpatine was a bad influence. So…"

"Well, I hate to say it, but I did bloody tell you." Obi-Wan laughed. "I knew he was a bad influence, but a Sith Lord? I think he earns the prize of the worst of influences." The two Jedi burst into laughing, and fortunately they were the only ones in the chamber. To make fun of such situations was uncharacteristic of the Jedi. "Look, I'll be back to Coruscant by tomorrow. I'll see if there is anything I can do to help in the investigation."

"Please do. I wouldn't want you to miss all the fun." Anakin said.

"Okay, okay. See you later." Obi-Wan's hologram vanished, leaving Anakin alone in the room.

Sighing again, Anakin turned around and walked towards the door. "Now comes the hard part." He said to himself.

Anakin was right. The Council meeting was just a warming exercise. The hard part was telling the Senate that the Chancellor was an undercover Sith Lord. Politicians were not exactly the most reasonable people in the galaxy, and in times like these, reason was a hard thing to get. Yoda had gathered Padmé, Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan and Senator Mon Mothma of Chandrila in Bail's office. He had hoped that revealing the truth to a few Senators first would ease the pressure. Yoda was also aware that some Senators had been… disagreeing with some of Palpatine's policies, so he found it natural that Palpatine's enemies should know of his betrayal.

So far, the meeting between the Jedi and the Senator went smoothly. Padmé, Bail and Mothma had trouble accepting Palpatine's betrayal. They knew he had plans to take power from the Senate, but being a Sith Lord was a hard thing to swallow. Windu and Anakin had also provided them with the evidence they had gathered.

During most of the meeting, Anakin and Padmé had been staring at each other. Padmé had been concerned about his husband the last few days, and now she knew why. One of his closest friends was a Sith Lord. All the promises, all the flattery and encouragement were one lie built on top of another. She could see the guilt on his eyes; she could see the nine-year-old boy she met on Tatooine. She wanted to get off her chair, give that boy a hug and tell him that everything would be okay. But she had to fight that urge. She couldn't allow herself to do that, not here, not now. Their duty to the Republic forced them to restrain their feeling. The current situation did not help matters.

But the day ended and the Skywalkers returned home. After a silent dinner and a long shower, Anakin and Padmé got into their bed. There was no words between them, no glances, nothing. It was the hardest thing they ever did in their lives. In one hand, you had Anakin. He had stared at the most despicable person in the galaxy, seen his lies, and lived to tell the tale. But the experiences had changed him, and maybe not for the better. Despite his sunny disposition, it didn't take a wise Jedi Master to know that he was pained by something.

On the other hand was Padmé. Through one political mess too many, Padmé had seen her fair share of deceitful men and women, but Palpatine definitely was the king of them all. She and her Delegation of 2000 sought to bring a peaceful to Palpatine's regime. But it was not meant to be. One could only guess what could have happened if Palpatine had gotten his way.

Both held their secrets and neither had shared them. A bond forged by fire, threatened to be destroyed by mere words.

The night was infected with rain. Drops knocked on the apartment's window. Clouds covered the black-gray sky. On their bed, Anakin and Padmé took refuge. Draped on the bed sheets, husband held his wife tight on his arms. The wife buried her face under her husband's chin. Neither held the courage to look at each other in the eye. They felt as ice drowned their hearts and shadows poisoned their souls. Would they let that happen? Would they let the dark side end their love?

In a bold yet tender move, Padmé opened her eyes. She was not even asleep, recent developments had troubled her enough to keep her awake at night.  The Senator of Naboo gently freed herself of Anakin's grasp and touched his face with both hands. "Ani, talk to me."

"What do you want me to say?" The Chosen One had a somber face.

"Why are you like this? Why do you like to burden yourself with the galaxy's ills?"

The question broke Anakin's heart-wall. "What?"

"Ever since you unconvered Palpatine's duplicity, you have been a complete wreck. You act if the galaxy is out to get you. And that's not you, Anakin. That's not you at all. What happened to the man I married? Did he die? Did Palpatine kill him?" Padmé's words were firm, yet soft. She didn't want to break whatever was left of Anakin's spirit, but she had to do something for him.

Anakin leaned on the pillows, not taking his eyes off his wife. "I… I'm not sure what happened to me."

Padmé sat on the bed, keeping her eyes on him. "Please, confide in me."

"Palpatine… offered me a way to save you."

"What?"

"He said that if I became his apprentice, he'd find a way to keep you from dying. I believed him, Padmé. I was willing to do abandon the Jedi, just to save you."

"Oh, Ani." Padmé was understandably shocked by the revelation. She lowered her head, and a question began festering in her mind. Was his husband willing to give up everything he ever believed in to save her? "I don't know what to say."

"But I had a vision." Padmé looked back at him. "The Force… showed me what would happen if I became a Sith. You died, Padmé. And in a way… I died too. But I still feel like a made a big mistake."

The Senator was confused. Anakin wanted to save her, but he still felt guilty for rejecting the Sith Lord's offer. "Why?"

"The Council was uneasy at how close I and Palpatine were. They were concerned that Palpatine might be a bad influence for him. And this just proved them right. I should have seen this coming, Padmé. It was stupid of me think Palpatine was a good person."

"Anakin…" Padmé crouched down near him. "…Palpatine didn't turn out to be the man you thought him to be, but you are still you. I don't blame for this. This stuff just happens. We made make mistakes because we are human. But now, we have a chance to make things right. We can fix this, Ani. I know we can." As she spoke, Padmé took his husband's hand and placed it on her belly. The Skywalker child was growing strong in the Force. Anakin felt warm, and Padmé's eyes began shining with hope. "The Force gave you that vision because it wants you to set things right. It wants you to be a father, Anakin. And this child… is a new hope."

Her words ignited their hearts. The Force had blessed them. Husband and wife joined their lips in a powerful kiss. The best kiss they had in a long time. And after the kiss ended, Padmé rested her head in Anakin's chest. Both draped themselves in the bedsheets. Sleep was beginning to overtake them. A good sign.

It would be seconds  before they fell asleep, so they used the last of their waking strength to stare at the window, still hit by raindrops. The  Skywalkers liked the rain, so it was fitting for them to see rain as the last thing of the day, before their eyes closed.

"Ani, things will be okay." She smiled.

"Yeah, I know they will." He smiled too.

Husband and wife fell asleep, and for the first time in a while, they felt hope, joy, love.